General Casts War in Religious Terms
The top soldier assigned to track down Bin Laden and Hussein is an evangelical Christian who speaks publicly of 'the army of God.'

By Richard T. Cooper, Times Staff Writer

WASHINGTON â The Pentagon has assigned the task of tracking down and eliminating Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein and other high-profile targets to an Army general who sees the war on terrorism as a clash between Judeo-Christian values and Satan.

Lt. Gen. William G. "Jerry" Boykin, the new deputy undersecretary of Defense for intelligence, is a much-decorated and twice-wounded veteran of covert military operations. From the bloody 1993 clash with Muslim warlords in Somalia chronicled in "Black Hawk Down" and the hunt for Colombian drug czar Pablo Escobar to the ill-fated attempt to rescue American hostages in Iran in 1980, Boykin was in the thick of things.

Yet the former commander and 13-year veteran of the Army's top-secret Delta Force is also an outspoken evangelical Christian who appeared in dress uniform and polished jump boots before a religious group in Oregon in June to declare that radical Islamists hated the United States "because we're a Christian nation, because our foundation and our roots are Judeo-Christian and the enemy is a guy named Satan."

Discussing the battle against a Muslim warlord in Somalia, Boykin told another audience, "I knew my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real God and his was an idol."

"We in the army of God, in the house of God, kingdom of God have been raised for such a time as this," Boykin said last year.

On at least one occasion, in Sandy, Ore., in June, Boykin said of President Bush: "He's in the White House because God put him there."

Boykin's penchant for casting the war on terrorism in religious terms appears to be at odds with Bush and an administration that have labored to insist that the war on terrorism is not a religious conflict.

Although the Army has seldom if ever taken official action against officers for outspoken expressions of religious opinion, outside experts see remarks such as Boykin's as sending exactly the wrong message to the Arab and Islamic world.

This guy may be a good field commander, but that's about his Peter Principle limit...Deliver us from zealots of whatever sort!

Now, Bush has repeatedly said all this isn't a religious war, at least not on our part. This dude has run his mouth before on this issue. I wonder if the person responsible for appointing him is a political enemy of Bush? Who wants to embarrass him? Trouble is, he's embarrassed the whole bloomin' U.S.!

Who is Jerry Boykin? He is Army Lt. General William G. "Jerry" Boykin. The day before Boykin appeared at the pulpit in Oregon, the Pentagon announced that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld had nominated the general for a third star and named him to a new position as deputy undersecretary of Defense for intelligence.

It's worth reading this op-ed piece, also from today's Times. It's a bit bizarre to hear Rumsfeld claim the need for the "context" of Boykin's remarks. I mean, what kind of context would make these comments appropriate?

Of course I KNOW my god is the one true God, and yours is a worthless pile of dung, and an idol to boot. My God can kick your God's ass. There's no way your God could possibly be the right one, so I win by default. Not because I have a superior military to back me up, I could have half a squad of nitwits with water pistols and I would still triumph over your stupid piddly God. Serves you right that you lost. Silly tools of Satan.

Unfortunately, to a whole lot of American Christians, non-believers just don't count for very much. That's an important fact to keep tucked into the backs of our brains, for whenever church-state separation issues come up for debate.

I hate these arguements, and as many of you may already know from our abortion discussion I am what most people would call a "Jesus Freak." Christ backed violence is what these people are preaching, and I honestly can't think about a more hipocritical thing. This is not a religious war (another absured term in my opinion) and I am fairly certain it would not be applauded by the God thats name is often put in front of it. I also believe that God doesnt feel that an American life that was lost on 9/11 is worth more then an Iraqi or Afghan. When will someone step up to break the circle of violence.

This guy is a perfect exemple of a religious extremist. And the comments he made are extremly disturbing. A man in his possition should not say things like this in public (even if it's to a small group of people) And as a soldier (an officer non the less) he has a certain degree of reponsiblity for what he says and does. Specialy concidering the religous tension in the area.

Ok, sure, if these are his personal beliefs, fine, he has the right to belive what he wants. But there comes a time when one should refraim from speaking them, as doing so might endanger others.

Now, I know some people (the ones who try to defend his actions) want to make this out to be a "freedom of speech" issue. But this is one of those moments when one should refraim from expressing ones personal views as he did.

P.S: I had to add that last part due to the fact that I got into a longwinded debate with someone on another forum when he tried to turn this into "just" a "freedom of speech" issue. When quite clearly there are ALOT of other issues and factors involed.

Originally posted by pdham I hate these arguements, and as many of you may already know from our abortion discussion I am what most people would call a "Jesus Freak." Christ backed violence is what these people are preaching, and I honestly can't think about a more hipocritical thing. This is not a religious war (another absured term in my opinion) and I am fairly certain it would not be applauded by the God thats name is often put in front of it. I also believe that God doesnt feel that an American life that was lost on 9/11 is worth more then an Iraqi or Afghan. When will someone step up to break the circle of violence.

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True, people really must stop using gods name to justify their wars and killing. And even though I myself don't belive in god. I find these kinds of actions to be insulting to people who truly fallow whatever religion they belive in and/or preach. Killing in the name of god, for whatever reason, is a pathetic and hipocritical excuse. As most (if not all, though I can't say for sure since I haven't studied them all) religions state that killing is wrong.

It was an attack against everyone that isn't in their radical islamic sec. I would personally love to fight in the war on terror. Not against Islam, but against the radicals. Nothing we ever do will change the way they feel about us.

I have family that Islamic, I have dated someone that Islamic. They are a very peaceful people. There are parts of the religion that are interpreted to be violent, just like Christianity, but zealots, and religious fanatics are the problem in all religions.

Originally posted by Rower_CPU Because capitalism and military defense are Christian tenets?

They attacked the WTC and the Pentagon, not churches.

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1) look at max weber's (a rather famous historian) look at the link between puritan (one kind of christian) values and the development of capitalism.

2. i think bttm was talking more about the religiosity of the people than the target's they picked. these guys have a much bigger issue with christians and jews than with atheists and others with whom they have less.... negative experience, if you will, historically.

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